February 20th, 2009

Park Slope's Beth Harpaz, author of 13 is the New 18, is blogging this week on Lisa Belkin's Motherlode blog at the New York Times website. Here's the introduction by Lisa Belkin and an excerpt:

In her guest blog this week, author Beth Harpaz writes about the
rites of passage for suburban and urban kids. The title of her newest
book. “”13 Is the New 18 … And Other Things My Children Taught Me —
While I was Having a Nervous Breakdown Being their Mother,” sums up the
constant state of unease that comes with being a parent.

So does her essay:

FIRST MUGGING
By BETH HARPAZ

First shave, first concert, first kiss, first smoke — they’re all
teenage rites of passage, right up there with bar mitzvahs,
quinceanaras and Sweet 16 parties.

But when you raise your kids in the city, there’s another to add to the list: First mugging.

Unless you chauffeur your kids door to door in the five boroughs the
way parents do in the “burbs,” chances are, before they’re old enough
to vote, they’ll be mugged. Now obviously you hope and pray that if and
when your kid is mugged, it’s nothing more than a quick shakedown for
an iPod or a big kid grabbing a cell phone from a smaller kid.
Unfortunately, plenty of kids also get slugged or have weapons pulled
on them — even in neighborhoods like Park Slope, where I live. Yes,
it’s not all fusion restaurants and designer dogs. We got thugs, too.

You tell your kids to be careful, as they wander around the
neighborhood, hanging out in playgrounds after dark with their friends,
or going back and forth to school. But like teenagers everywhere, they
believe they are invincible. One night a few years ago, after a kid was
mugged at knifepoint near our house I warned my son to watch out. He
told me I didn’t have to worry because he was “unjumpable.”

December 17th, 2008

The 2008 Park Slope 100:
100 stories. 100 ways of looking at the world. 100 inspiring people,
places and things. The list is in alphabetical order. There are no
repeats from last year. There are always serious omissions. I left two slots open for latecomers. The link above is the list’s very own blog.

ART OBAMA because you were a creative and organized group with a great idea, energy and spirit. Heck, you raised $48,000 for Barack Obama at
a fun and festive art auction. Yeah!

FLORIAN BALHAUS because you are quietly building an
impressive filmography as Director of Photography forThe Devil Wears Prada, Definitely, Maybe, the upcoming Marley
and Me and The Time Travelers Wife. Whoa.

MARIATERESSA BAZZI because you’ve got two sets of twins born
one year apart. Enough said right there. They are now 11 and 12 and a
great bunch of talented and well-behaved kids. But you are also a
spirited, fun, involved person who oversees the recess crowd at PS 321.

BRENDA BECKER because in 2008 you decided to visit Prospect
Park every day as an urban adventure (and, not least, as a drug-free
antidepressant!), and to chronicle your discoveries. And you’re still
trying to get to the park every day, and posting about it on your blog,A Year in the Park,
a site the New York Times called "witty and engaging" in a profile last
July. "It was fun getting some Old Media attention for 15 minutes,"
comments Becker, "but the real gift was connecting to so many other
people, from cyclists to dog lovers, who are also passionate about
Prospect Park. The calendar is a way to share that passion."

SALLY BERMANZOHN because you were a labor organizer at the
Duke Hospital cafeteria with your husband Paul, who was critically
wounded in the Greensboro Massacre in 1979. Currently you are professor
and chairperson of the Political Science Department at Brooklyn
College, where you research and teach courses on the international
phenomenon of truth and reconciliation commissions. And that’s not all. You’re the author of Through Survivors’ Eyes: From the Sixties to the Greensboro
Massacre (2003), for which you received the Brooklyn College Award for
Excellence in Creative Achievement. You are also featured in Adam
Zucker’s documentary, Greensboro; Closer to the Truth.

ANDREA BERNSTEIN because as political director for WNYC and
The Takeaway, your reporting of Hillary Clinton’s primary campaign was always top notch, as were your stories from battleground states. Kudos for
being one of 12 top U.S. journalists to win a Knight Fellowship at
Stanford University in 2006-2007.

BILL DI BLASIO, City Council member and neighborhood advocate. Have you never been on this list?

CHARLES BLOW because as the New York Times’ visual Op-Ed columnist and an award-winning art director, you
bring a decidedly graphic style to that page, a great writing style and
a distinctive point of view.

BROOKLYN FOR BARACKbecause of the phone banks. And everything else you did to bring Barack to the White House.

BROOKLYN GREEN TEAM
because you’re a community group in Park Slope devoted to reducing your
environmental impact and you inspire others to do the same through
small changes which make a big difference. Founded in 2007, your major
activities include a blog site with local and national green news,
resources, upcoming events, and tips as well as informative emails
pertaining to a particular environmental issue such as local food or
bottled water. Green Team members include: Jennifer Bartels, Melissa
Browning, Amanda Gentile, Noelle Gentile, Johanna Voutounou, and Robert
Weinstein.

BROOKLYN MERCANTILE because
you’ve turned your eclectic, fun Fifth Avenue store,which features an unusual mix of home goods and notions into a community
workshop for crafters of all stripes.

BROOKLYNOMETRYbecause your take on things is so unusual and interesting and it’s never boring to read your words or look at your photographs.

COOL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT /THE MIGHTY HANDFUL because
you’re not just rock and roll bands. CUP raised $6,000 for New Orleans and for an orphanage for street children in Manila with annual concerts at the Old Stone House.
And on December 19th The Mighty Handful (with the help of CUP alums and moms) did it again: this time in support of action.org, advocacy to control TB internationally. And let’s not forget that CUP was a pioneering member of the
all-ages rock scene in the neighborhood.

PHYLLIS COOPER because you are da bomb as a physical
education teacher and administrator at MS 51, a good citizen of Park
Slope and Third Street neighbor.

HERMINE CHARLES AND GILBERT MIDONNET because you’re entrepreneurial and community minded and your shops, Serene Rose and Razor, combine elegance with a sense of fun. We know you comb Park Slope for the best of local artists, artisans and craftspeople.

DOUGLAS J. CUOMO because
you compose music for concert and theatrical
stages, television, and film. Your music, with influences from jazz,
world music, classical, and popular sources, is as personal,
distinctive, and recognizable as it is wide-ranging. Your compositions
range from well-known television themes — for Sex and the City and Now
with Bill Moyers, among others — to evening-length works for theater,
including Arjuna’s Dilemma, an opera-oratorio based on the story of the
Bhagavad Gita, which was at BAM this fall.

D’VINE TASTE because you’ve been providing this community
with delicious cheeses, breads, middle eastern specialties, condiments,
olives, sweets, and more at reasonable prices for many years in a
friendly atmosphere with good service and even better conversation
while WNYC plays on the radio.

CAITLIN DEANbecause
you decided to start Girl Guides, a non-profit outdoors program or
sixth through tenth grade girls in Brooklyn. A graduate of Yale
University in 2007, you worked for Sen. Dick Durbin on Capitol Hill in
Washington, D.C., but left your job to get this inspired project off the ground.

JENIFER EPELBAUM because of your efforts help your neighbors, an elderly man and a mentally disabled woman, who are being evicted from their Slope apartment where
the woman has resided for 19 years. You wrote: "She and her partner have been our
neighbors in the Slope for these many years, and as a community, I
believe we have a responsibility to make sure they are treated fairly and
decently." Nicely put.

FAMOUS ACCORDION ORCHESTRA because your quartet spans the traditional and the modern. You perform original material, as well as tunes from many different
traditions, including Stephen Foster, Jacques Offenbach, Paolo Conte, Leonard
Bernstein, Yiddish, Basque, Italian, Balkan, and beyond.

BRADLEY FELDMAN because your geeky weather tower is working
24/7/365 days a year to bring Park Slopers the temperature, the
wind chill, the humidity and a live image detailed weather,
radar/satellite map, 5-day forecaster and pollen levels. Your weather site is quite a service to the community.

SANDI FRANKLIN because since joining the Center for the Urban Environment (CUE) in
2001, you’ve brought this esteemed 30 year old organization into the
21st century. You’ve honed the agency’s mission, expanded its
programming, and cultivated new partnerships to allow CUE to become the
leading educational guide to a greener New York City. Under your
direction, the Center relocated its headquarters from the bucolic seat
of Prospect Park to its more gritty cousin, the Gowanus Canal, on 7th
Street— in what is on schedule to be the first green building of its
kind in the borough. Under your leadership, you’ve increased
discussions around sustainability and access to ‘green’ education by
helping launch the Sustainable Business Network NYC, worked in nearly
every school in Park Slope, established three environmentally-themed
high schools, and spearheaded Brooklyn’s first and largest green
conference, Green Brooklyn…Green City. For your efforts you have been
awarded "Citizen of the Year" by the Executive Council in 2008 and
"Brooklyn Woman of Distinction" by Con Edison in 2003—and changed the
lives of thousand of residents from Park Slope to Bushwick by providing
them with the tools for greater involvement in the future of their
communities.

LEON FREILICH because you truly are the-oh-so-prolific verse
responder with your funny and smart observations about national and
local politics, as well as daily life in the Slope. Once a day and
sometimes 3 or 4, you bring wisdom, levity, good sense and poetic craft to
the many readers of OTBKB.

ELLEN FREUDENHEIM because you were the author of the first
guidebook to Brooklyn in something like 50 years, and then updated
twice since. If anyone has done something to help put Brooklyn on the
map we think you have.

ANDREW FRIED because you lost your wife suddenly and
tragically and we feel for you. You have been very eloquent in your
expression of grief on your blog, Fry Guy’s Thinkerings. "Our life was going amazingly, like a dream come
true. We spent days together and never argued. We kissed constantly and
couldn’t spend enough time with each other. We laughed, loved, and
talked about our future, including our expectant child."

KAREN ROTHMAN FRIED, a beloved teacher at PS
321 known for her commitment to and appreciation of each and every
child in the classroom. Brooklyn Heights born, she received her Master
of Science in Elementary Education and Post
Master of Science in Reading from Bank Street College of Education and
taught 2nd grade at the Special Music School of America as well as 2nd
grade at the Lycee Francais de New York before coming to P.S. 321 in
2007. In memoriam.

PATRICK GASPARD because Barack Obama appointed you national political director of his presidential campaign and the rest is history.

RICHARD GIN
because you are the self-designated photographer of the Brooklyn
all-ages music scene and you get the shots that everyone loves.
Pictured left: Fiasco.

GINO’S COLLISION because you fixed my father’s Subaru for a reasonable price and we love the adorable bright orange Fiat 500 that you park right outside. Classy.

CAROLINE GHERTLER because you are the best mom I know and
that’s not faint praise. I admire your way with S and think she’s a
very lucky girl to be your daughter. You’re a great sister, a great wife, a great daughter and a great friend. All this working full
time with crazy hours as a set decorator on cool movies and TV commercials. How do you do it?

FRANK GIORDANO because you are a first class middle school
principal at a first class middle school (New Voices) and you return emails faster than
any educator in New York and that’s amazing.

MARTY GOLDIN because you run Goldin Management, which provides customized management plans for Co-ops,
Condos and rental buildings You are a great landlord at Montauk Office,
the coolest office space in Park Slope (in the coolest building).
You’re an involved parent, citizen, member of your community, and a fun
guy to have as a landlord.

MINDY GOLDSTEIN because of the many roles you play in your life,
including Joanne in Charlie Libin’s indie film, American Combatant, a
recurring muse in Jamie Livingston’s Photo of the Day
project, a wonderful mother, a nursery school teacher at the Plymouth
Church School, a specialist in special needs education, a former editor
of Pandamonium, PS 321’s poetry magazine and a graceful volunteer
wherever help is needed.

SARAH GONSER not just because you’re smart, cool, and
accomplished but the real reason is that you embody what we believe
are the best facets to Brooklyn living. You helped a newcomer to the
Slope when she needed it most. You invited her to the Ladies Night, for
companionship and conversation of some pretty incredible women. but
what she represents. One friend writes, "I’d heard that Park Slope was
a neighborhood of community and warmth and civic pride, but had not
experienced it until I was introduced to it through Sarah. She
captures these incredible attributes in the best, nonsnarky or
judgmental, incredible way."

AMY GRAVES, executive director of Brooklyn Children’s Theater,
because, simply put, Brooklyn Children’s Theater is a Park Slope
treasure. You have introduced scores of neighborhood kids to the
wonders of musical theater in a setting that brings out the best in our
community.You and your team, including several middle school interns,
have worked this fall with more than 80 kids from elementary and middle
school to create five short yet spirited musicals in a non-competitive,
purely joyous productions. Cash donations at the door enable the school
to offer "scholarships," so children who can’t pay for the program
still can find their way onstage.

KATHRYN HARRISON because
you write deeply, bravely and honestly about your own experiences in
your memoir work and you bring beautifully rendered fictional worlds to
life in your novels, including Exposure, Poison, The Seal Wife and The Binding Chair.

JENNIFER HENRY who blogs as The Henrys in New York because
you left a perfectly nice, ordered, well-connected life in arguably the
world’s most liveable city, to relocate halfway around the world to
live in arguably the world’s most exciting city. We love to read your
take on all the things you are discovering in NYC and Brooklyn. Your
enthusiasm is infectious.

FORBES HILL was the retired Chairman of the Department of
Media Studies at Queens College. He taught Christian education at the
Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims and was involved with the Independent
Neighborhood Democrats, a local political club. A singer, he was also a
member of the Brooklyn
Community Chorus, the Congregational Beth Elohim Singers and the
Plymouth Church Choir. "For my father, music was a chance to
seek truth, experience beauty, relieve suffering, love and be loved and
achieve something of lasting worth," said Steffanie Hill Wilchfort, his
daughter. In memoriam.

JOHN HODGMAN because you play
the PC guy in those funny Apple commercials and we love your hilarious,
and completely fake, trivia books (“The Areas of My Expertise” and the
new “More Information than You Require”), your regular appearances as
the resident expert on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and your description of Park Slope as a "utopian commune ruled by children."

SARA HOROWITZ,
because as executive director of Freelancers Union and CEO of
Freelancers Insurance Company you’re trying to bring affordable health
care to us freelancers. A lifelong resident of Brooklyn, NY, you come
from a long line of
labor advocates, including your father, who was a labor lawyer, and
your grandfather, who was vice president of the International Ladies’
Garment Workers Union. You studied at Cornell University’s School of
Industrial and
Labor Relations and later
earned a
master’s degree from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.You
are the recipient of a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Fellowship (also known a genius award).

ALISON HOUTTE because you are the flamboyant and fabulous owner of Hooti Couture,
a vintage store at 321 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, that specializes in
women’s and men’s clothes and accessories. Before getting into the
vintage business you worked as a model for more than 10 years in Paris
and Manhattan, appearing in everything from Vogue magazine to a Dr
Pepper television commercial—and you still look like one. Your store
has been featured in Women’s Wear Daily, The New York Times and many
other publications

JAKE the panhandler who stands in front of ACE Supermarket on Seventh Avenue and Berkeley Place because you’ve had a tough life, you always ask so nicely and you have such a big, warm smile.

JOYCE JED AND JANE BECKER because of the hard work
and inspiration that led 8th Street between 8th Avenue and the Park to
win 2008’s Greenest Block in Brooklyn. This was the first time a block
in Park Slope won the award sponsored by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
.The two of you were able able to unify a block and inspire dozens
of people to take an interest in street trees and caring for tree beds
and putting up window boxes. You represent the best of Park Slope with your commitment to the neighborhood and the people who live here.

NATE KENSINGER because we know that you’re a documentary filmmaker, photographer, film festival programmer and a location scout but it’s your pictures of the industrial edges of NYC that grab our hearts. Photo left: under the boardwalk.

DEDE KAVANAUGH because some call you the mayor of Park Slope.
We loved your costumes for Piper Theater’s production of Midsummer
Night’s Dream in Washington Park right down to the Victorian underwear.
We notice all the decorative things you do at benefits, weddings, and
school events.

PAMELA KATZ because you always have the time to be an amazing
friend despite your multi-tasking life teaching screenwriting, writing screenplays, writing novels, being a superlative mom, an excellent conversationalist, a voracious reader, and a backyard gardener.

JEZRA KAYEbecause in
your public speaking workshops you teach how to communicate with power
and ease so that people really listen. You’re on the board of directors
of Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn , and are author of Kicking: Love Poems, which is one woman’s grapple with the
ever-changing face of love. You’re also a jazz singer, a Food Coop member and one heck of a people connector.

ADAM KLEIN AND ISABEL REBOH because we still can’t believe
that you moved away from Third Street, your home for 15 years. Each of
you in your own way, was an integral part of life in the Slope. We ask:
How are you surviving in a small town more than an hour from
Toronto? We miss running into you both on Third Street or Seventh
Avenue. Thanks for the emails, the excerpts from the Toronto Globe and the literary musings. But most of all we
envy your new neighbors!

THE HANDY LANDLORD OF LINCOLN PLACE because you watch over your properties like a proud papa and you’re a whiz with power tools. You do your creative carpentry in front of Stitch Therapy, Paper Love and One of a Find on Lincoln Place creating attractive planters and benches, which you then hand paint. Name to come.

PAUL LAROSA because on your blog, The Murder Book 2008, you
created a record of all the murders in NYC that appeared in the city’s
three newspapers. You’re also a TV producer for CBS’s 48 Hours and a
true crime author of Tacoma Confidential and other page turners.

CHARLES LIBIN because you’re usually behind the lens as
director of photography or camera operator on films like Able Danger,
Be Kind Rewind and Neil Young: Heart of Gold. Your film, American Combatant, was selected for numerous film festivals, including the San Paulo
International Film Festival and is now available at Amazon. Most
of all, we love that you were on screen as an extra during the euphoric party
scenes in Rachel Getting Married, a film you also worked on.

RABBI ELLEN LIPPMANN because as founding rabbi of Park Slope’s Kolot Chayeinu/Voices of Our Lives
you bring a spirit of serious Judaism, spirituality, social activism
and human rights to your pulpit. A tireless organizer, you played an
instrumental role in the now annual Children of Abraham Faith Walk and
more recently have been an outspoken advocate against torture (bringing
a petition to our local Congresswoman, Yvette Clark). How Rabbi
Lippmann manages to organize and advocate in addition to leading a
thriving faith community is anyone’s guess. Rumor has it that she’s
getting some help from above.

THE LITTLE ROOM because you’re a nationally recognized program for 3- and 4-year-olds with
speech and language delays and one of the things that makes the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School special. Your fate is unclear but a lot of people are fighting for you. Update: I hear they’ve decided to keep you through the spring of 2010. Your ultimate closing is a loss to the educational landscape of Brooklyn.

LIVING ON SEVENTH because we love your friendly shop and all
the beautiful things you’ve got in there. Eva, you have impeccable
taste in home design, accessories and clothing.

LUCY because you sell vintage clothing at the PS 321 Flea
Market and anybody can see the woman has style from that long
blond wig against the ebony skin. And you’re willing to share it!
Slopers in the know have been fighting over the stash you bring to the
flea market at 321 for years now. And you never forget to ask after our
kith and kin as you get us to wriggle in and out of your swanky stuff.
WIthout you we’d have to walk around naked: Lucy, you are the empress!

COOL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT / THE MIGHTY HANDFUL because
you’re not just another rock and roll band. You raised more than $8,000
over the last four years for New Orleans and for an orphanage for street children in Manila with your annual concerts at the Old Stone House.
And on December 19th you’re doing it again: this time in support of TB vaccines. And let’s not forget that you are leading members of the
all-ages rock scene in the neighborhood. Nominated by Kim Maier.

KIRSTEN MARINO of Slope Sports because
we love that your shop is always a fun spot for conversation. And when
we’re buying running shoes there’s no one we’d rather talk to or buy
from. And thanks for organizing the New Year’s Eve run in Prospect Park
coming up. Oh yeah, your weekly free running groups are a major
addition to the nabe.

JULIE MARKESbecause you multi-task as a PTA president, a talented photographer and the author of children’s books like Good Thing You’re Not an Octopus and the ever-popular, Where’s the Poop? and all the others from HarperCollins.

RACHEL MAUER because you are the blood and guts of Park Slope Parents.
You keep PSP running like a well-oiled machine and that includes the
website and two Yahoo! groups! You help local businesses get the word
out about classes, activities, and community events. We know you don’t
like being in the spotlight. But you deserve to be here. That’s for
sure.

JOSEPH M. McCARTHYbecause when Jim Niesen and Terry Greiss moved the Irondale Theater Center to
Brooklyn, they teamed up with you to be their director of development
because you are an incredible advocate for any project that you’re
involved with. Now you’ve put Irondale onto the Brooklyn map as a
place for strong education and innovative theater, as well as the
guardian of the beautiful Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church.

ERIC McCLUREbecause you are the quintessential ardent
civic and community activist who can enter all worlds and lend a steady
voice of reason, intellect and comfort. Your civic involvement is
invaluable to Park Slopers for the steady hand, integrity and strategic
thinking you offer. A skilled community organizer, you walk steady in
the worlds of politics, transportation and environmental advocacy, and
community development. Effective both in leadership roles and working
in the background, you have taken leadership positions on the
Executive Committee of the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats
(CBID), the Executive Committee of the Park Slope Civic Council, both long time fixtures on the Park Slope scene. He also sits on the Steering Committee of the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods (CBN),
a newcomer on the block, which has brought together 42 community
organizations to advocate for transparency and environmental oversight
for development at the proposed Atlantic Yards site. you are also an an
active volunteer with Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn.
When you saw a gap and a need for vigorous activism in the Park Slope
community, you founded what has quickly become a well-known,
established fixture in Park Slope—Park Slope Neighbors (PSN).
PSN advocates for community dialogue, contextual and environmentally
responsible development, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, small
businesses and diversity in the community. And let’s not forget the
way you utilize your wit and writing skills as part of the team that
churns out copious amounts of coverage of the Atlantic Yards fight on
the inestimable NoLandGrab.org

MOIRA MELTZER-COHEN because you make everyone feel so welcome when they enter Fifth Avenue’s Bar Reis and you keep the level of cocktail conversation very high. Your Etsy shop, Good Head, is
a great place to find hats and gloves. Your qualities as an
intellectual, a cultural critic, a knitter and a good bartender are obvious to all.

MATT MITLER because for ten years we’ve loved the black light
magic of your Halloween puppet shows in the ground floor window of your
apartment on Garfield Place. Your theater troupe, Diezi, sounds pretty
wonderful, too. Not only for its artistry but because the group
performs in hospitals and believes that helping others "generates a
profound healing effect that not only serves the patient but also
strengthens the ensembles work."

THE NEWCOMERS TO THE SLOPE, including Barrio, Playa, Babeland, Eric Shoes, Pure Essentials, Yogo Monster, Five Guys Burgers, Paper Love, One of a Find, the Tibetan Store, Primo Atto, Bussaco…more to come

NANCY NANCY because
you lost the lease on your beloved Fifth Avenue shop that was mecca for those in search of funny chotchkas and cards; we understand that you are
reinventing yourself and moving on. Good luck to you. And keep in touch.

BARACK OBAMA

DAVID PECHEFSKY because you used your experience in the New York City Council to help the new parliament of Sierra Leone. And you peddle your mother (and your 4-year-old daughter) around Prospect Park in your bicycle rickshaw.

The PSP PUPPET MAKING TEAM because you gave the Halloween Parade
new life with gradiose puppets that floated down Seventh Avenue this
year. Led by Theresay Linnihan of the Puppeteer’s Cooperative, helpers
included, Kiera, Toby, Brent, Ariel, Holly, Susan, Amber, Joan, Jim,
Dalien and Havona. We salute all of you.

NERINA PENZHORN because your well-crafted segments for your
series, A Walk Around the Blog on Brooklyn Independent Television
really made the Brooklyn blogging community visible.

ANN PRESCOTT because as akindergarten and first grade
teacher extraordinaire you have influenced legions of Brooklyn kids at
The Children’s House (now Rivendell) and at Packer Collegiate, where
you continue to leave your mark.

PROSPECT PARK TRACK CLUBbecause of the Turkey Trot, the Cherry Tree Run and all the other running events you do in and around prospect Park.

MALLORY Y. RUTLEDGEbecause you opened tiny MYR on Seventh Avenue and we love the custom blended foundation and your natural-looking cosmetics and make overs for weddings, proms, parties, special events and
just for every day. Thanks.

JON SCHAEFER because you’ve hosted and produced the popular
shows, Soundcheck and New Sounds on WNYC radio for years. Your program
was called "The #1 radio show for the Global Village" by Billboard
magazine. Recently, you went to North Korea with the New York
Philharmonic and wrote a moving blog about the experience.

ANNE SCHWARTZ because
you were the midwife to Olivia, that feisty pig, confidante to
Lincoln, fictional and factual children’s editor extraordinaire of
Schwartz & Wade at Random House Children’s Books, proving profits
in publishing keep on coming when we honor children’s intelligence and
imagination and the deity who is in the details.

JON SCIESZKA because your wacky, zany books, including The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! have been translated into a bunch of language, won a bunch of awards and have sold over 11 million copies worldwide. Not bad.

CARLY ROSE SILBERMAN, a 2-year-old South Slope toddler who
enjoyed everything her neighborhood had to offer. Going to Wantana for
her sticky rice, attending Music Together taught by Kevin, getting
fresh buttery croissants at Parco, and lets not forget visiting Annette
at Toy Space to get a balloon. A sweetheart who died suddenly with no
warning. A tree has been planted and a bench will be made in her honor,
next to one of her most favorite of all Park Slope destinations, the
9th Street Playground at Prospect Park. (In memoriam).

LENORE SKENAZY because
you did the unthinkable: you let your 8-year-old son ride the subway
home from a department store on the Upper East Side. You didn’t expect
to get hit with a tsunami of criticism from readers. But you did and
you handled it well; you even came out to Park Slope to tell the tale.

S’NICE because you decided to give the picturesque corner of
Third Street and Fifth Avenue a go and made it the kind of vegan
cafe/restaurant, where locals can dine daily, take meetings, work on
their blogs and novels, and leave keys for house guests.

ROB SPILLMAN because as editor of Tin House, a bi-coastal (Brooklyn, New York and Portland, Oregon) literary magazine,
you publish special issues devoted to themes like Work and African
Literature in Exile. We like how smart and articulate you are
especially leading panel discussions at the Brooklyn Book Festival especially the one called: Movements
and Visions of Identity in the African Imagination with African
authors Binyavanga Wainaina, Patrice Nganang and Breyten Breytenbach.

DANIELLE SUCHER AND DAVE TURNER because you run Jack, an occasional restaurant at the Brooklyn Lyceum. You blog about food at Habeas Brulee and you run your own law firm. Get down girl.

THE BLOG THAT MUST NOT BE NAMED because, as you wrote, "you were black every day for 33 years; Never a nigger until Wall St. moved to Brooklyn." On your blog, you’re funny, you’re nasty and you insult just about everyone, including yourself. You say it like you see it and we love you for that.

CHERYL THOMAS because as Event Coordinator at the Old Stone House of
Brooklyn you are ever fair and steadfast in your Ever commitment to
crowd control, you are OSH’s secret weapon for event management. And
when bestowed upon you, your brilliant smile and departing blessing of
"be careful, be safe" make the world a better place.

JANE TOMKIEWICZ because you’ve been teaching the Alexander Technique to
groups at the 92nd Street Y since 1992 and privately in Manhattan since
1990. You served as the Executive Director of the American Center of
the Alexander Technique from 1996-2008 and are now very pleased to begin
teaching group and private lessons in Brooklyn at the Feldenkrais
Center of Park at 375 5th Avenue.

ELEANOR TRAUBMANbecause you are a writer educator, culture maven, and community-builder whose
passion is connecting people to each other, and connecting people to
tools and resources for living an inspired and effective life. You write that your mission is to "bring people together through the arts, creativity,
and humor." It is also your work as a professional organizer that is highly worth noting: "I assist busy New York women to
cut down on clutter and to create systems of organization for home and
office." And let’s not forget your indispensable leadership of the 2008 Brooklyn Blogfest and your dedication to the The Brooklyn Blogade, a monthly
gathering of Brooklyn bloggers. Go girl Go.

JOHN TUCKER because we love dinner and brunch at Rose Water,a seasonal American restaurant with a commitment to local,
regional, organic and sustainable food.

SCOUT TUFANKJIANA because of your sweeping, intimate portraits of Barack Obama’s historic campaign in "Yes We Can," from PowerHouse Books.

PEG TYRE because
you’re a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, who was, until recently, a
senior editor at Newsweek. But your book, The Trouble with Boys, addresses some important and vexing questions: why do boys lag
behind girls in academic achievement? Why are schools failing boys? You
are a godsend to mothers of boys!

MEDUSA SALON because of your inspired fundraising effort for
Barack Obama, Up-do’s for Obama. Photos of your Sarah Palin
look-alike contest made their way around the world. Good work girls!

ED VELANDRIAbecause
you are the subway sketcher. You use a computer tablet and touch pen
for your sketches and try to capture people on the F Train. It’s your
therapy, your meditation, and your only chance to draw during a very busy day. “Everyone
is so different, no matter how much you lump people together,” you told
the LA Times, who did a front page article about you last summer. “I guess my
ultimate goal is to really capture the soul of a person.”

DARREN VON STEIN because in your shop, Prints Charming,
you steer your customers toward frames that make the Francis Bacon
painting soar—- or the hand print by our second grader sing—and
then lets us imagine we found it ourselves! Like any good frame you
never draw attention to yourself. You don’t brag, don’t whine, you
don’t even charge a lot—although you’re a master craftsman who has
been at this for a couple of decades There’s something so darn slopian
about this kind of unassuming respect for tradition, not to mention
good old neighborliness.

CYNTHIA WADE because
you won the Academy Award for your short subject documentary
"Freeheld," the story of Detective Lieutenant Laurel Hester, who spent
25 years investigating tough cases in Ocean County, New Jersey,
protecting the rights of victims and putting her life on the line. She
had no reason to expect that in the last year of her life, after she
was diagnosed with terminal cancer, that her final battle for justice
would be for the woman she loved.

REBECCAH WELCH because as Senior Associate Director of Communications at the Center for the Urban Environment you work hard so that everyone knows and understands what’s going over there. You are also involved with the Buy in Brooklyn initiative and you personally contributed to the Community Bookstore
in its greatest time of need. You also wrote those wonderful Why Shop
Local? profiles of local entrepreneurs, which delighted the readers of OTBKB. For your community mindedness,
your environmental smarts, your devotion to local issues, It was a no-brainer putting you on this list

WASHINGTON PARK (formerly JJ Byrne Park) because you got a new name and thanks to the Parks Department, Boymelgreen Developers, Kim Maier and a a whole slew of pols, you got game—and a new skate park, two new
basketball courts,
six handball courts, a new dog run, new fencing, gates, pavement and
landscaping. Coming soon: a synthetic turf green, new fencing,
landscaping and the plaza area opening the view of the Old Stone Houseto Fourth Avenue.

JOYCE WATSON was the crossing guard at the corner of First
Street and Seventh Avenue, with the angelic voice, she will be
remembered by students and parents for the lovely way she spoke to the
children. Hello beautiful. Good Morning, my sweet angels. Hello lovely
lady. In memoriam.

MO WILLEMS even though you don’t live here anymore we still LOVE the Knuffel Bunny: A Cautionary Tale and Knuffel Bunny: A Case of Mistaken Identity. You brought a small dose of fame to the laundromat on Sixth Avenue and 5th Street (which is under new ownership now).

MICHAEL WINKS (with the beard)because
whether you’re writing plays or calling for alcohol-based
fuels and a members’ only alternative fuel club to supply fuel made
almost entirely from ethanol, an alcohol distilled from grains like
corn, you are a creative guy with a lot to say. We love your play,
Baby Love (performed at Brooklyn Reading Works), an absurdist take on contemporary parenting. Photo courtesy of the Brooklyn Paper.

GILLY YOUNER because you’re a talented architect, a great
mom, a board member of the Park Slope Civic Council and Develop Don’t
Destroy Brooklyn and you recently appeared in The Civilians’ Brooklyn
At Eye Level, a lively performance of theater, music and dance that
took its
inspiration from interviews with the real life players in the story of
Brooklyn. And in March you are curating a retrospective of paintings by your late father, Chaim Herbert Youner, at the Upstream Gallery in Dobbs Ferry.

AARON ZIMMERMAN because you run the New York Writers Coalition, the largest community-based creative writing program in the country. And we love your beliefs: "Everyone is a writer, regardless of prior writing experience and
formal education; Through encouragement and support, people grow as writers and
artists; In the value of the uniqueness of every individual’s voice; Each person’s experiences are a source of strength and power as a
writer and an artist;In creating and maintaining a non-judgmental, open and respectful
community where everyone is encouraged to support and listen to each
other and to take risks and grow as writers;Each person, through writing, can shape and influence the lives of
others; andWe can achieve social change by providing access and opportunity for
all writers, regardless of race, ethnicity, class, age, gender, sexual
orientation and physical ability."

And that, Dear OTBKB readers, is the fitting end to this year’s Park Slope 100.

December 15th, 2008

This year it may be the Park Slope 90 because people always send in ideas once the list is published so I thought I’d leave room for some latecomers.

Still, this Wednesday you won’t want to miss the roll out of the Park Slope 100. Maybe you’re on the list.

This is the third time I’ve done this. The first list in 2006 was "foundational," as it included a
diverse and inspirational list of Park Slope movers and shakers. Of
course a list like that has to be incomplete. There are only 100 slots.
It’s reductive by nature.

That first list contained the names that come up when you think of
Park Slope in the last few years. Names like: Paul Auster, Pastor
Meeter, Fonda Sara, Chris Owens, CHIPS, Al Di La, Steve Buscemi and Jo
Andres, Kim Maier, Stitch Therapy, Catherine Bohne, Two Boots, Jonathan
Blum, The Dinnersteins and more.

While many of the names were very well known, some were unfamiliar
or unexpected. They were the behind the scenes people like Thomas
Parker, the barista at Connecticut Muffin, Hillary at Shawn’s Liquors,
Alan Berger the brains behind the Brooklyn Free School, Eric the
beloved toddler swim instructor at Eastern Athletic. and neighborhood
watch-woman, Jackie Connor, who died in 2006 and others.

Foundational. In some ways, it was the surface layer, the first
pass. Even as I was publishing the 2006 I knew there were so many
more people to recognize.

The 2007 list was full of great and unexpected names. State Senator Eric Adams, The Bromberg Brothers, Andy the Fruit Truck Guy, David Brooks. The Brownstone Bride, Daniel Eppelbaum, the kid who actually sat down and wrote a
letter to the borough president about the aggravating idiosyncrasies of
the B-67 bus and got an answer.

Last year’s felt even more like the story of this
community. It was topical and contained names that had come up on OTBKB, on
Seventh Avenue, on Fifth Avenue, in the zeitgeist of Park Slope during the year.

As I said when I rolled out the first list, the idea of a list like this is inherently
subjective, flawed, and wildly controversial (even annoying). But it’s
fun to do if only as a way to record life in this neighborhood in an
interesting way.

As usual, important names will be missing. This is just this particular
story, this particular year.

November 11th, 2008

The Park Slope 100: 100 stories, 100 ways of looking at the world, 100 inspiring people, places and things. The list is in alphabetical order. There are no repeats from last year.

In mid-December I will release the 2008 Park Slope 100. I want to hear from you about the people you think should be on the list. You can send your choices to me at louise_crawford(at)yahoo(dot)com or just leave a comment. Remember your comment will not show up immediately. I moderate all coments.

The Park Slope 100 is a highly opinionated, subjective list of the most talented, energetic, ambitious, creative individuals with vision in the Greater Park Slope area who reach outward toward the larger community and the world to lead, to help, to teach, to improve, to inform, to network, to create change (and/or fun).

The people who make THE LIST can do just about anything, including community activists, entrepreneurs, volunteers, spiritual leaders, publishers, bloggers, arts administrators, social workers, therapists, artists, writers, educators, politicians, chefs, restaurant owners and you name it…

The Park Slope 100 focuses on those who do something that enhances the quality of life and community.

The Park Slope 100 is for the famous and not famous alike. I especially like to hear about those we’ve never heard a thing about.

The Park Slope 100 is listed in alphabetical order. Whenever possible, links to web sites, blogs, and/or more information is provided so that you can learn more about these remarkable individuals.

The Park Slope 100 is sure to cause some controversy. There are always many, many more people who deserve to be on it.

The Park Slope 100 was created by Louise Crawford and she takes full responsibility for it.

December 13th, 2007

The Park Slope 100: 100 stories, 100 ways of looking at the world, 100 inspiring people, places and things. The list is in alphabetical order. There are no repeats from last year. There are many serious omissions. Send names for next year.
Yesterday News 12 Brooklyn came out and interviewed a few people on the list. Some of the people on the list don’t even know they’re on it. Some of them don’t use computers and/or blogs. Some people have had trouble finding it on the separate weblog. So here it is.STATE SENATOR ERIC ADAMS because you traded in your blue uniform for a blue suit when you were elected to the 20th Senatorial District, which includes the neighborhoods of Flatbush, Crown Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace and Prospect Heights. You developed workshops called, “What To Do When Stopped By The Police,” which have helped thousands of young people throughout New York learn to better interact with the police. You are a supporter of the Buy Local Brooklyn initiative and you asked the right questions: “How do we bring in revenue that Manhattan enjoys? How do we let it spill over into the Slope, Prospect Heights and the rest of Brooklyn?"ANGELA THE CROSSING GUARD because you keep the kids safe when they cross Second Street and Seventh Avenue.THE ACCORDION PLAYER OF SEVENTH AVENUE because sitting on your folding stool in front of Chase Bank you add a distinctly Eastern European melancholy to the Avenue.ANDY THE FRUIT TRUCK GUY because we didn’t know what to do without you when you went away. Get well and much gratitude to your cousin for keeping life fruity on Seventh Avenue.JUDY ANTELL because as a super involved mother of three, you are the ultimate Park Slope mom, who also happens to be the editor of NY Metro Parents.NOAH BAUMBACH because you are Slope born and bred and you make honest, funny, risky movies like Margot at the Wedding and the Squid and the Whale.JAMES BERNARD because you’re a member of Community Board 6 and a executive coordinator of the Project Forum on Race and Democracy, and senior communications fellow at Policy Link. You launched the Source and XXL, two hip-hop magazines, and have written about popular culture for the New York Times, the Village Voice and Entertainment Weekly.PAULA BERNSTEIN AND ELYSE SCHEIN because after being separated at birth you found each other and wrote a beautiful and honest memoir, Identical Strangers: A Memoir of Twins Separated and Reunited , about identity, nature vs. nurture, family, and love.THE BROMBERG BROTHERS because in 2001 you crossed the East River and created Blue Ribbon Brooklyn, perhaps the best all-around restaurant in the borough. Thanks for giving us all such a special place to go.THE BROOKLYN BLOGGERS because you sit at your computers and tell us what you see, think, feel, and hear day in and day out. Thanks for the words and pictures. Deep in the Heart of BrooklynSelf-Absorbed BoomerLuna Park GazetteFlatbush GardenerBed Stuy BlogCallalillieKensington BlogClinton Hill BlogCreative TimesBrooklyn Hts. BlogPark Slope Street PhotographyMcBrooklynSustainable FlatbushBrit in BrooklynNew York ShittyKinetic Carnival And of course, everyone cited last year: Gowanus LoungeBrownstonerNo Land GrabAtlantic Yards Report Dope on the Slope

THE BROOKLYN TORNADO because on August 8th, 2007 you blew our socks off.DAVID BROOKS because you got everyone mad at you when you wrote “Can we please see the end of those Park Slope Alternative Stepford Moms in their black-on-black maternity tunics who turn their babies into fashion-forward, anti-corporate, indie infants in order to stay one step ahead of the cool police?” in your New York Times Op-Ed column.THE BROWNSTONE BRIDE because you spent the night in a bridal dress perched on top of the entrance of a brownstone on Fourth Street. As reported by the Brooklyn Paper, you had a Tiffany engagement ring in a bag.Picture by Nate Harpaz.BUY LOCAL BROOKLYN because the yellow umbrellas were a perfect symbol for a group that brings together local businesses, non-profits, the Park Slope Civic Council and the Park Slope Chamber of Commerce. And now you’ve organized the Snowflake Celebration, a night of holiday shopping and festivity on December 13th. Way to go, team.

C IS FOR CUPID because as the new dating service for people whose lives have been affected by cancer you are giving people hope, love, and even some fun.CHRISTIE’S JAMAICAN PATTIES because you’re a Flatbush Avenue institution. Your soup! Your chicken! Your chicken curry patties!MARIA COLON, ANNIE CICCONI and HOMARYA FLORES, because on Fourth and Third Avenues, you keep the kids safe on a really wide street with fast moving cars.

CLAIREWARE because your colorful ceramics with polka dots and swirls make me happy.CLUB LOCO because you are presenting bands like Sister Helen, Fiasco,Dulaney Banks, Cool and Unusual Punishment, Francesca Perlov, Window Sign Language Tetsuwan Fireball, Jet Lag, Banzai, and many others at Old First Church and giving teenagers a cool place to be one Saturday night a month.BRYAN COLLIER because your illustrations in Martin’s Big Words are just wonderful, and a big fave at PS 321.DEENA DAVIS because you’re one of the most politically connected people in Park Slope, dating from your days as PTA president of PS 321. Now you’re program director of the Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development, and back for a second term on the CEC for District 15, as the borough president’s appointee and treasurer.RUDOLPH DELSON because you gave everyone their say in your sprawling tale of post-9/11 love in New York City and got a veritable rave from the New York Times.THE DOE FUND GUYS because you’re Ready, Willing and Able to change your lives and do what needs to be done while improving the quality of life around here. We thank you.SUZANNE DONALDSON because not only are you the most gorgeously put together fashion plate in the Slope but you beat leukemia and raised TONS of money to help others fight it doing the Chicago Marathon. You’re also a talented photo director at Glamour and just an all around great person.THE ERHU PLAYER WHO SITS IN FRONT OF CITIBANK because your two-stringed fiddle brings a Chinese melody to the streets of Park Slope.EIDOLON because you were pioneers on the new Fifth Avenue with beautiful clothing, jewelry, accessories, and knit wares.MARCIA ELY and MELISSA BENSON because in addition to everything else you do, you run the Brooklyn Heights Homeless Shelter, a volunteer-run shelter that has hosted 10 women Monday through Thursday during the winter months for 25 years.DANIEL EPPELBAUM because you actually sat down and wrote a letter to the borough president about the aggravating idiosyncrasies of the B-67 bus and got an answer.JOE FERRIS because in the Assembly and out you have devoted your life to preserving jobs, homes and the history of Brooklyn, your hometown. Most recently you led the effort to save the vista at the Green-wood Cemetery. And all without a computer…RYAN FLECK AND ANNA BORDEN because your movie Half Nelson with Ryan Gosling and Shareeka Epps wowed me with its dark and powerful portrayal of a very believable New York City school teacher and the Red Hook students that he hopes to inspire.ZELDA FOSTER because you were a social worker and an early and tireless advocate of hospice care. In memoriam.TONY GIORDANO because you, along with the Fifth Avenue Merchants Association, donated countless hours of your time to move Fifth Avenue forward in the formation of the fifth avenue BID.DR. AMY GLASER because you compiled and published the first complete listing of summer activities for teens in New York City, which includes 125 fascinating programs for every interest and pocketbook SUMMER IN THE CITY FOR TEENS, the Zagat of summer programs, is a welcome resource and it was screened and tested by young adults and their parents.GOOD FORM DESIGN because your posters, websites, and logos for Brooklyn Reading Works, the Park Slope 100, the Brooklyn Blogfest, Stoopendous, the Old Stone House, Brooklyn Mama, and Seeing Green spread the word with a perfect balance of color, composition, and fun.CRYSTAL GRANDERSON-REID and JANA NELSON because you created Brownstone Buddys, eight characters, with distinct cultural identities and interests. Among them are an African-American girl who adores math, a Chinese-American sports buff and a book-loving girl of Hispanic heritage.RICHARD GRAYSON because you explored Brooklyn by bus and wrote about it with style, humor, and oodles of personal history. And to quote the Philadelphia Inquirer: "Grayson is a funny guy from Canarsie, Brooklyn… his kind of metafiction, mixing his memories (numerous main characters are named Richie Grayson) with his inventions about pansexual borough dwellers dealing with minor and major crises, read like stand-up comedy routines.”

GREENJEANS (Amy Shaw and Jae Kim) because you are committed to high-quality craft and crafters/artisans in addition to sustainability and conscientious living. You were also pioneers, opening one of the first shops on that southern section Seventh Avenue and Bloggers.MAGGIE GYLLENHALL because you’re the real deal: a talented actor with great taste in movies, who wants to give back to the community: “Now that my daughter is older and I have more free time, I want to spend as much of it as possible helping people who don’t have all the advantages I have,” you told the Brooklyn Paper at a public school fund raising event.CRAIG HAMMERMAN because you are a tireless public servant who works hard as District Manager of Community Board 6 (which serves Park Slope as well as Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill and Red Hook). You personally see that all questions to CB 6 are addressed, and you know the city agencies so well that you can often get an answer quickly! You are fair, calm and you always listen.BRIAN HALWEIL because your magazine, Edible Brooklyn, is manna for Brooklyn’s passionate foodies.BETH HARPAZ because you’re a working journalist who wrote a book about your experiences reporting on Hillary Clinton’s senate campaign, The Girls in the Van, and a true story about your mom, Finding Annie Farrell: A Family Memoir . And you’re a great local tipster (we loved the Brownstone Bride pix taken by your son).BETH HASSRICK because you were a beautiful and loving mother; a Gestalt psychoanalyst with a doctorate in contemporary philosophy; and an attentive neighbor and friend to many. You never passed without a warm hello and a smile. We miss you.HELLGATE HARMONIE because you are bringing opera to these them hills.ISABEL HILL because you got it all on film and made everyone see how much the future of Brooklyn matters.THE HOMELESS MEN OF OLD FIRST because you (Robert Royster, Will Franklin, and Frank) inadvertently started a conversation in Park Slope that led to the formation of the Park Slope Coalition for the Homeless. You inspired Pastor Daniel Meeter t o write, “They cause me a great deal of trouble, and lots of anger from our neighbors, and I do wish they would go away, but, whatever else, they remain human beings, images of God, and they need to be treated with respect.”EMILY ISSACS because at the Trois Pommes Bakery you’re bringing your years of experience at Union Square Café and giving us something very special.ANDREA JACOBS and CHERRY and everyone else at Little Things because you’re always helpful and you keep your cool during the tantrums, the meltdowns, and all the parent/child mayhem that goes on at Little Things. Thanks for the purple wrapping. Thanks for the toys.CAPATHIA JENKINS because you are a bright, shining star. Whether you’re performing with Martin Short in Fame Becomes Me on Broadway, or in Caroline or Change at the Public Theater or singing beside Louis Rosen in a benefit for the Old Stone House you enthrall and inspire with your vocal virtuosity, your musicality and your warmth.HEATHER JOHNSTON because you lead with a quiet strength and can be depended upon to get things done. And your food is DELICIOUS.
Your video blog, So Good (Sogood.tv) is a helpful and fun resource for the home cook and consumer with video demos, recipes and wine suggestions.STEVEN BERLIN JOHNSON because you started Outside.in, which you describe as an attempt to “collectively build the geographic web, neighborhood by neighborhood.” And look at the books you’ve written: Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software (2001), Everything Bad Is Good For You: How Today’s Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter (2005), The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic – and How it Changed Science, Cities and the Modern World (2006).DIERDRE JONES because as a smart first-time restaurateur with a fabulous sense of design and an adorable giggle, you knew that Fifth Avenue needed a child-friendly restaurant/cafe with good, healthy food. But Perch is far more than that: It’s a way of life. From morning to night, the restaurant moves through multiple identities from kid’s music destination, cool bar, brunch spot, place to meet friends, play card games, listen to adult music, poetry. You name it, it probably happens at Perch.PETER JOSEPH because you are the board chairman of the Old Stone House, a cellist, cartographer who developed a great new map on the OSH website and an overall thoughtful community member.SU KRAMER because your film, Gray Matters, with Heather Graham is a sexy and stylish screwball comedy about a brother and a sister who fall in love with the same woman.NICA LALLI because you wrote a book about nothing and it’s really something. What it’s like to grow up without religion is the subject of your fascinating memoir, Nothing, Something to Believe In.

PATTY AND BOB LENARTZ because as owners of Slope Cellars you are always ready to give back and are generous and kind. Experts at the "cheap and tasty" category, you are never pretentious and always dog friendlyBRAD LANDER because you direct the Pratt Center for Community Development, which works to make this city a just, equitable, and sustainable place for all by empowering communities to plan and realize their futures.PETER LOFFREDO because you’re a holistic psychotherapist (and blogger) with strong opinions who is on a mission to convince parents that they deserve to have a life full of love, sex, and fun apart from their children.ROBERTO LORENZUTTI because you are the car listener, a former race car driver, and host (at your car repair shop on Douglas Street) of one of Brooklyn’s most unusual salons (nominated by Hugh Crawford).LORETTA OF THIRD STREET because your kitschy bust of Elvis graced your Third Street window for more than 15 year. Alas, Elvis has left the building and you’ve moved somewhere new. We wish you well.DIONNE MACK-HARVIN because they hired you from within to run one of the biggest public library systems in the country and you’re doing it with lots of skill, style and aplomb.CHARLOTTE MAIER because as head of PS 321’s parent-run Scholastic Book Sale, which raises money for the PTA, you put the kibosh on selling furry pencils, sequined journals and cutesy stuff so that the kids would actually buy books and not toys. This year you performed on Broadway with Christopher Plummer and Brian Dennehy in Inherit the Wind. You were also in the film Music and Lyrics with Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant. But to the kids in Park Slope you will always be known for your hilarious turn as the dialect instructor opposite Steve Martin’s Inspector Clouseau in the 2006 remake of The Pink PantherELLIE MASSIAS because you started the Jewish Music Café at 401 9th Street (between 6th and 7th Avenues) and created a place in the Slope to get an ice cold bottle of He’ brew Beer, a slice of Mrs. Selter’s famous Cheese cake, a Kosher Cappuccino and enjoy great bands playing Klezmer, Sephardic, Avant Garde jazz, Hassidic rap and Israeli trance in the heart of one of NY’s most ethnically diverse neighborhood.KEVIN McPARTLAND because your novel, Brownstone Dreams, tells it like it was in tough Irish Park Slope in the 1960’s. Think Pete Hamill, Frank McCourt with a little Scorsese mixed in. And if you want to see the manuscript, just let me know.MET FOOD because you are open from 6 am until midnight every day and always have exactly what we need and more. Last summer, a car crashed into your store and knocked down your fruit stands and awning. But you dealt with it. You are resilient, pleasant to talk to and a great lover of cats, Ebony and Ivory.JOSH MILLSTEIN because you run the Community Bookstore’s reading groups, including the Jewish Philosophy Book Club, the Under-appreciated Book Club and the Modern Literature Book Club. “We love new faces,” is your motto.MARTY MODINA because you brought the California burrito to Park Slope at Rachel’s Taqueria on Fifth Avenue and The California Taqueria on 7th Avenue. We love the murals, we love the prices, and we love your vintage red pick up truck parked outside.MOIM RESTAURANT /SAERI YOO PARK because you are introducing Park Slopers to the unfamiliar and delicious cuisine of Korea, including your mother’s recipe for Dol Sot Bi Bim Bop, vegetables, meat and rice served in a steaming hot stone rice bowl. You got close to a rave in the Times and were compared to Al Di La and Franny’s. Not bad.MELISSA MURPHY of Sweet Melissa because you’ve created a cozy, homey place for comfort food and world-class pastries. It feels like you’ve been here forever. (photo from the Brooklyn Paper )

ROY NATHANSON because you bring music, poetry and inspiration to everything you do, including teaching music at the Institute for Collaborative Education, a NYC public middle and high school. You inspire as a saxophonist, composer, bandleader and principal composer of the Jazz Passengers, a six-piece group that you founded with Curtis Fowlkes in 1987.JENNIFER NELSON because you lead the children in song. And they are SINGING every Tuesday at Old First Church.OTTO because your quirky mix of clothing, lingerie and home décor has been a go-to shopping destination for years. Finally, you moved to bigger and more visible digs on Seventh Avenue.ADRIENNE ONOFRI author of Walking Brooklyn, because you had a great idea, pitched it to a publisher, and you walked the walk.TOBY PANNONE because you are an amazing little boy living with a terrible disease. Not long ago you were a Park Slope preschooler living the Park Slope toddler life. Then life dealt you a low blow. But you and your parents continue to rise to the occasion. Despite the many painful days and nights, you are still a joyful child, the love and light of your parent’s lives. Read Mooki and Stephen’s blog to learn more about Neuroblastoma and what you can do to help Toby.

NICHOLAS PEKARO, an auxiliary cop, he was murdered at 19 on the streets of the West Village. A writer, Nicholas worked at Crawford Doyle Booksellers on Madison Avenue and lived in Park Slope. In memoriam.PIZZA PLUS and ROZ because after a fire destroyed your South Slope pizza restaurant, you rose from the ashes and created something even more wonderful. Roz, you are a fabulous community minded person and hard working merchant of the mom and pop variety.THE RED HEADED WAITRESS AT BROOKLYN FISH CAMP because you’ve been serving us some of our favorite restaurant food with humor and fun for years now. First at Two Boots and now at the delightful Fish Camp. Thanks!

TOM RAYFIEL because you completed your ambitious trilogy of novels all about Eve. In Parallel Play you channeled a believable and likable Park Slope mom warts, humor, and all.MEGAN DONIS, INGRID ROJAS, KUYE HARRIS, AND KECIA COLE and everyone at BCAT because you scour the borough for the great stories that are out there for your shows, Brooklyn Review and Brooklyn Beat.

IRENE LO RE because as the owner of Aunt Suzy’s, you’ve been the doyenne of Fifth Avenue for nearly 30 year. Thanks for you leadership and effort on behalf of the 5th Avenue Business Improvement District.JAVIER ROSARIO because you run Saint Francis Youth Sports and you’re a wonderful volunteer who help the youth from all over Park Slope by providing excellent team sports, Baseball, Softball, Soccer, Golf and Flag Football. You are a leader who recruits and supports dozens of volunteer coaches throughout the year.LOUIS ROSEN because your songs make us swoon, laugh and cry. In multiple idioms—jazz, pop, bossa nova, folk and musical theater—and with surprising leaps of melody and harmony, you bring the poetry of Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni, Langston Hughes, and YOU to lifeRIGOBERTO SALAZAR because as custodian at Our Lady of Peace you bring order and calm to those hallowed halls.SCAREDY KAT because the two of you were anything but scaredy kats when you dared to open your cool shop before any one thought Fifth Avenue was cool.TOM SIMON because you know the used books business like nobody else and you knew when it was time to call it quits on Seventh Avenue. Your Lessons for Shoplifters sign, which you posted on the window of your shop, Seventh Avenue Books, was a masterpiece of retail poetry: "You know you’re dishonest, and yeah, a thief, so should you ever while among family or friends find fault with Bush or Cheney or some other scoundrel, the cosmos will likely quietly snicker at your obliviousness."THE SKIRT LADY because you sit in the window at Starbucks in your beautiful self-designed clothing and quietly create amazing necklaces out of dried fruit and berries from Prospect Park.

JOAN SNYDER because you are our neighborhood genius and you’ve got the MacArthur Genius Award to prove it. Your citation said: “In Snyder’s paintings, each brush stroke is like a character in a story, pulsing with emotion and vitality. After abandoning formal grids as the basic structure of her paintings, Snyder’s work became more explicitly gestural and rooted in memory, while at the same time more complex materially.AMY SOHN because we’ve grown up with you: read your sex column in NY Press and your mating column in New York and your baby column there, too. You pretend to be a bad mom but you’re a good mom in our book. You write it like you see it and we respect that.MICHELE MADIGAN SOMERVILLE because in addition to your busy life as an epic poet and the mother of three, you organized a great Dante event at St. Augustine Church, as well as the Church Ribbon Project, a memorial for those who died of AIDs.STEPHEN TALKHOUSE FELLOWS because you are bringing some fresh energy and fun to the lovably faded glory of the Montauk Club.THE STOOPENDOUS COMMITTEE because you took a great idea and really ran with it organizing in just a few months, A Celebration of the Summer Solstice in Park Slope, a festive way to mark the beginning of summer and connect with neighbors. The idea was generated at an open meeting of the Park Slope CIvic Council. The All-Slope-Solstice-Shout-Out was a gas. (Betsey McGee, Susan Fox, Joyce Jed, Linda Gnat Mullin, Nelly Issacson, Shelia Hanks, Andi Peretz and Elizabeth Reagh and Dave Kenney, Tom Reynolds, Julie Kay, and Tom Fergus).HARRY TARZIAN because you run a great family hardware store and decided to join Develop Don’t Destroy.MICHAEL THOMAS because your book, Man Gone Down, is written with a masterful first-person voice that is intense, poetic, angry, vulnerable, real, and full of thoughtful rage about race, class, marriage and love in New York City.THE TRANSFORMERS because 60 young people came all the way from Gibbsville, Wisconsin to Brooklyn to help fix the chandelier at the Old First Reformed Church and let there be light in that grand sanctuary.3-R LIVING for your dedication to the community and helping raise the eco-consciousness around here.JOHN TURTURRO and KATHERINE BOROWITZ because you went to bat for the Community Bookstore, invested $10,000, and become a part owner there. Turturro told the New York Times: “Now as I’m getting older, all these great small bookstores and art house movie theaters, so many things I love, are being swallowed up by a supermarket mentality.”UNION HALL/JIM CARDEN because not only do we love the scope and ambition of UNION HALL but we love the bocce court, the juke box, and Skippy’s music shows. We also love the stuff that goes on downstairs especially the Spelling and Grammar Bee with David Witt and the Secret Science Club.CORDULA VOKULING because with a diagnosis of stage 4 brain cancer you decided to quit your job and devote yourself to your painting. "Hey, I got advanced brain cancer – my system kicks me in the butt and screams: Be your authentic self or you are going to die sooner not later. Any questions?"ZELDA VICTORIA because you reinvigorated Victoriana with a fresh, almost post-modern sense of color, style, pattern and fun. We miss you and your shop.MARY WARREN because Mrs. Cleavage’s Diary and Eat Drink Memory are just the beginning. You’ve got a book waiting to come out of you (and I’m waiting).THE WRITTEN NERD because you love reading books, talking about books, and "being where literature hits the streets." Your blog, and especially, your Brooklyn Lit Life interviews are just great.ALLEN ZIMMERMAN because you’re the person behind all that great tasting organic produce at the Park Slope Food Coop, a real unsung hero. “The way I learned this job was hands-on. You touch the produce, you smell it, you eat it,” says Allen, a lifelong Brooklynite and former union activist.JUDITH ZUK because you were the Tupper Thomas’ of the Botanic Gardens. In memoriam.

I’m still proof reading and finding mistakes: but the Park Slope 100
has gone LIVE. As new information pours in, I flow it in. As I find
mistakes, I fix them. For something like this I could really use an
assistant. Thanks for the responses so far.

December 7th, 2007

I’m still proof reading and finding mistakes: but the Park Slope 100 has gone LIVE. As new information pours in, I flow it in. As I find mistakes, I fix them. For something like this I could really use an assistant. Thanks for the responses so far.

December 6th, 2007

I bring you: THE 2007 PARK SLOPE 100. It has its very own weblog accessible on the right hand side of this page. See the logo >>>>>>>>

The list is in ALPHABETICAL order.

It’s still a work in progress. There are still misspellings, missing names, missing pictures, missing info, broken links. But all that will be fixed in the hours and days to follow. Please send in any corrections.

This year’s Park Slope 100 feels more topical than last year’s. It includes names that have come up on OTBKB, on
Seventh Avenue, on Fifth Avenue, in the zeitgeist over the past year.

The Park Slope 100 is itself a work in progress. It’s a crazy thing to do. So reductive. So incomplete. As I’ve said before, the idea of a list like this is inherently
subjective, flawed, and wildly controversial (even annoying).

But it’s
fun to do if only as a way to record life in this neighborhood in an
interesting way.

December 6th, 2007

I am still putting the finishing touches on the Park Slope 100. It will be up early this afternoon.

This year’s Park Slope 100 feels even more like the story of this
community. The list is topical. It is full of names that have come up on OTBKB, on
Seventh Avenue, on Fifth Avenue, in the zeitgeist of Park Slope.

As I said last year, the idea of a list like this is inherently
subjective, flawed, and wildly controversial (even annoying). But it’s
fun to do if only as a way to record life in this neighborhood in an
interesting way.

December 5th, 2007

Last year’s list was what I call foundational, as it included a diverse and essential list Park Slope’s movers, shakers, and notable individuals. Of course a list like that has to be incomplete. There are only 100 slots. It’s reductive by nature.

That first list contained the obvious names that come up when you think of Park Slope in the last few years. Names like: Paul Auster, Pastor Meeter, Fonda Sara, Chris Owens, CHIPS, Al Di La, Steve Buscemi and Jo Andres, Kim Maier, Stitch Therapy, Catherine Bohne, Two Boots, Jonathan Blum, The Dinnersteins and more.

While many of the names were very well known, some were unfamiliar or unexpected. They were the behind the scenes people like Thomas Parker, the barista at Connecticut Muffin, Hillary at Shawn’s Liquors, Alan Berger the brains behind the Brooklyn Free School, Eric the beloved toddler swim instructor at Eastern Athletic. and neighborhood watch-woman, Jackie Connor, who died last year.

Foundational. In some ways, it was the surface layer, the first pass. Even as I was publishing last year’s I knew there were so many more people to recognize.

But that’s the beauty of doing a list every year. No names will be repeated year to year. It’s a cumulative list. This year we have the Park Slope 200. Then it will be the PS 300, 400. In 2010 it will be the Park Slope 500, an on-going list, a story of this neighborhood in these times.

This year’s Park Slope 100 feels even more like the story of this community. It’s topical. It’s names that have come up on OTBKB, on Seventh Avenue, on Fifth Avenue, in the zeitgeist of Park Slope.

As I said last year, the idea of a list like this is inherently subjective, flawed, and wildly controversial (even annoying). But it’s fun to do if only as a way to record life in this neighborhood in an interesting way.

The Park Slope 100 is an opinionated, inherently flawed, subjective, obviously controversial list of talented, energetic, ambitious, creative
individuals with vision in the Greater Park Slope area who reach
outward toward the larger community and the world to lead, to help, to create, to teach, to
improve, to enhance, to inform, to network, to make change.

The people chosen for THE LIST are community
activists, entrepreneurs, volunteers, spiritual leaders, publishers,
bloggers, leaders of organizations, social workers, therapists,
artists, writers,
educators, politicians, chefs and restaurant workers and owners and whatever else
I’ve left out.

Tell me who you think deserves to be on the list and why and thanks to those of you who have already done so!

Posted in park slope 100 | Comments Off on LAST CHANCE FOR PARK SLOPE 100 NOMINATIONS

October 29th, 2007

The Brooklyn Paper reports that Maggie Gyllenhaal is looking to make a contriution to the community.

“Now that my daughter is older and I have more free time, I want to spend as much of it as possible helping people who don’t have all the advantages I have,” Gyllenhaal said told the Brooklyn Paper at a public school fundraising event at Acorn, a toy store in Cobble Hill.

In April, an investment offering went out in which Ms. Bohne offered up to 49 percent ownership in the store to a group of friends willing to put up at least $10,000 apiece. So far, six people have signed up, including the actor John Turturro, a neighborhood resident and longtime customer.

“I’d never done this with a store,” Mr. Turturro said. “But now as I’m getting older, all these great small bookstores and art house movie theaters, so many things I love, are being swallowed up by a supermarket mentality.

January 28th, 2007

The other week, I asked Pat Salmon, who works at Park Slope Copy, whether he looks at blogs. It was a coy way to bring up the subject of the Park Slope 100. I am frequently in the shop — but I never brought it up before. The store was too crowded or I was in too much of a rush. This time I did.

"Did you know you were in the Park Slope 100?" I asked.

"Yes I did," he said. "I got a raise because of that…just kidding."

Apparently he discovered it one day when he googled Park Slope Copy. He found the Park Slope 100, as well as the fact that someone put Park Slope Copy up for sale on eBay as a prank. He doesn’t know who did it.

"Disgruntled employee?" I suggested. He laughed. He also told me his last name, which was omitted. "Salmon like the fish."

December 7th, 2006

It’s funny to get hammered for the things I was anticipating that I would get hammered about. As expected Gawker wrote something unflattering. But hey, that’s what they do.

I wrote this earlier today:

Rest assured: The List is sure to contain
mistakes-a-plenty and ommissions. It will provoke hurt feelings, angry
feelings, annoyance, aggravation, accusations, charges of stupidity,
etc. The whole idea of this list is patently absurd to begin with.

I was right. And then some. The list has provoked charges of elitism. I guess a list is, by definition, elitest. In my mind, I was modeling this on the kind of lists in New York Magazine, in this month’s Atlantic Monthly (They Made America The Top 100), those photo essays in Vanity Fair, Top Tens, Ten Bests.

Yes, those lists are annoying and very subjective and biased…just like this one. They are as annoying for what they include as for what they exclude. Still, they’re interesting.

The last thing I wanted to do was create a popularity contest.
That’s not the idea at all. This is not a list of the most popular or
the most famous or the most…you name it.

The List is about people who are reaching outward. In considering names, I asked:

Who contributes most directly to the quality of life and values in Park Slope?

Who are the people with talent and generosity of spirit?

Who are the people who are contributing to the greater good?

Obviously,
this is all very subjective. My notable person might not be yours. My
definition of the greater good might be your definition of the greater
bad. My values may not be your values.

By its very nature a list like this is flawed. I mean, who am I to
decide who the 100 most influential people in greater Park Slope are. I
do like a challenge…but come on.

But The List is not static thing. It’s a starting place. A way to get the word out about what people are doing around here.

The very existence of The List will beg the question: so who’s been left off? I am hoping to see tons of new names once this thing gets published.

I’ve gotten lots of nominations from readers and I’ve enjoyed them
all. Sometimes the names were already on the original list. That felt
good because there was a feeling of consensus. Some names were, I
guess, obvious. Others not so.

All in all, it’s been fun. A lot of work. A lot of thought. A lot of
racking of the brain…who’s that person who…what’s that person’s
name?

What a great way to get to know—and pay tribute to—the people who share these streets.

December 7th, 2006

Here’s the cover of the Atlantic Monthly that
inspired the Park Slope 100. I saw it, I read the list and I
immediately got inspired to do a list for greater Park Slope.

Interestingly, my first reaction to the list of 100 Influential
Americans was one of annoyance. I guess it’s a natural reaction. The
list was pretty much the names you’d expect. Very predictable. Very
dull. There weren’t many woman or minorities on the list and that was
annoying. It seemed very textbook, very conventional.

Still it inspired my little exercise.

The article is called: WHO MADE AMERICA?

Who are the –most influential figures in American history? The
Atlantic recently asked ten eminent historians. The result was The
Atlantic’s Top 100—and some insight into the nature of influence and
the contingency of history. Was Walt Disney really more influential
than Elizabeth Cady Stanton? Benjamin Spock than Richard Nixon? Elvis
Presley than Lewis and Clark? John D. Rockefeller than Bill Gates? Babe
Ruth than Frank Lloyd Wright? Let the debates begin.

December 7th, 2006

So it seems that THE LIST has caused a stir. I guess I expected that. But I didn’t expect to be called an elitestsycophant. Luckily, I’ve developed a pretty thick skin. I am processing all the critical comments, the positive ones, and the new names. My reaction to the new names is this: I wish you’d written me before.

Someone said this list should be called "100 people OTBKB is friends/colleagues/associates with". As you can imagine, I beg to differ. I am not friends with very many people on this list. I’ve highlighted in red the choices that are very personal (husband, neighbors, employer, close friends).

As I say at the beginning of the list, THE GREATER PARK SLOPE 100 is ahighly opinionated, inherently flawed, subjective list of talented, energetic, ambitious, creative
individuals with vision in the Greater Park Slope area who reach
outward toward the larger community and the world to lead, to help, to create, to teach, to
improve, to inform, to network, to create change.

These people are by no means the only creative individuals with vision. They are the ones who were nominated by readers or chosen by me. This was not undertaken in a very scientific way. I went with my gut as did, I’m sure, the people who sent names in.

I see this list as a conversation starter. It asks as many questions as it answers. It certainly begs the question: who is missing from the list?

And there are many.

The people chosen for THE LIST happen to be community activists,
entrepreneurs, volunteers, spiritual leaders, publishers, bloggers,
leaders of arts and or community organizations, social workers, therapists, artists, writers,
educators, politicians, chefs, restaurant owners and workers, teachers, and whatever else
I’ve left out.

It is inALPHABETICAL ORDER. Please send corrections to
louise_crawford@yahoo.com. This list will be updated as corrections are
made. As of December 7th, all links have been tested and are fixed.

December 4th, 2006

It is a highly opinionated,
subjective list of talented, energetic, ambitious, creative
individuals with vision in the Greater Park Slope area who reach
outward toward the larger community and the world to lead, to help, to teach, to
improve, to inform, to network, to create change.

The people who made THE LIST are community activists,
entrepreneurs, volunteers, spiritual leaders, publishers, bloggers,
arts administrators, social workers, therapists, artists, writers,
educators, politicians, chefs and restaurant owners…(you get the idea).

There are many, many talented and famous people in Greater Park
Slope. Obviously, many more people should be on this list, which
focuses on those who do something that enhances the quality of life and
community.

THE LIST is for the famous and not famous alike.

THE LIST is in alphabetical order. Whenever possible, links
to web sites, blogs, and/or more information is included so that you
can learn more about these remarkable individuals.

THE LIST is sure to cause some controversy. it is sure to make people mad. It is just a drop in the bucket when it comes to who’s who in Park Slope. And that will certainly mean different things to different people. But this is the first list and
there will be another one next year. Please send your nominations in.

THE LIST was created by Louise Crawford and she takes full
responsibility for it. On her blog, Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn, she
solicited nominations from readers. Many of those nominations are
included here.

Congratulations to those who are on this list and thanks to those who nominated them.

Posted in park slope 100 | Comments Off on THE PARK SLOPE 100: ROLL OUT ON DEC. 6TH

November 27th, 2006

The names are coming in. The list is growing and growing. The list will be rolled out during the first week of December. The Park Slope 100 is a highly opinionated,
subjective list of the most talented, energetic, ambitious, creative
individuals with vision in the Greater Park Slope area who reach
outward toward the larger community to lead, to teach, to help, to
improve, to inform, to network, to create change.

Send your nominations to louise_crawford@yahoo.com and include a
short bio and your reason for selecting this person for the Park Slope
100.

Posted in park slope 100 | Comments Off on SEND IN NAMES FOR PARK SLOPE 100

November 24th, 2006

The names are coming in for the Park Slope 100. Send your nominations in NOW. Here are the guidelines.

The Park Slope 100 is a highly opinionated, subjective list of the most talented, energetic, ambitious, creative individuals with vision in the Greater Park Slope area who reach outward toward the larger community to lead, to teach, to help, to improve, to inform, to network, to create change.

Send your nominations to louise_crawford@yahoo.com and include a short bio and your reason for selecting this person for the Park Slope 100.